


A New Start: A Modern Pride and Prejudice

by floralpenguin



Category: Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-22
Updated: 2013-12-23
Packaged: 2018-01-05 14:51:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1095285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floralpenguin/pseuds/floralpenguin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura is about to start university where her life will be completely changed when she is introduced to a certain Will Darcy and his friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: The English school system is different to other countries so I hope you get the idea of it. Short first chapter to begin with, and the other family members/characters will be introduced later on.

_“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. However little known feelings or views of such a man may be on the first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters”_

Laura yawned as she turned down the corner of the page; she loved to indulge herself in a Jane Austen novel when she was tired. It was satisfying to lose herself in something which she felt was so far away from her own life, she was second of five siblings but that’s about where the similarities ended. Although come to think of it she had to admit that her family could sometimes be ridiculously embarrassing, unfortunately usually at very public events. 

Sighing she tucked her red hair behind her ear sighed while laying back on her bed. “This is going to be a brand new start” she thought to herself, tomorrow was going to be the day she moved into her new flat for university, which she was going to be sharing with Jen, her older sister, who was just starting her second year, studying Environmental Law. Laura herself would be studying English literature, it was pretty obvious that this would be her choice of subject, she was never without her nose in some book or other. Her favourites were any by Jane Austen and Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. Yes, tomorrow was going to be a fresh start, away from the trivials of being a child, she was finally going to be an adult and be independent.

There was a knock on the door.

“Come in”  
Laura was confused why anyone would knock, it was not common in her house, and people just seemed to come as they pleased”

“Hey Laura” Jen patted in wearing her flannel pyjamas. “I can’t sleep”

“You’ve done this before, surely I should be the one who is nervous, although I confuse I am”

“It’s the first time I’m going to be there and not be with Rob”

Rob was Jen’s ex, they had been dating since secondary school and it ended badly, apparently Rob had cheated on her but Laura didn’t know the details, Jen had spent most of the summer pining in her room and she had not dared ask her what happened. This would be a fresh start for both of them, although not in the same way for herself. Laura had never dated anyone, being much too caught up with reading and studying, and more often than not preferred her own company than to that of others, although she was not want for lack of admirers. Standing at 5”7’ she had waving ginger hair that trailed down her back in ribbons, clear blue-grey eyes, and her figure; curvy and flattering. Laura stood by her rule of eating whatever she wanted to eat; but exercised so that it did not impact on her greatly and made her have a very feminine figure, she didn’t care what other people thought of her, although mostly they thought her very pretty.

It would be a fresh start for Laura as during sixth form and school before them she had been bullied mercilessly by a group of girls, but as they say ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ and Laura had learnt to stand up for herself, and she was excited to share her new personality to the world, or at least all the people she was going to university with.  
“It will be okay Jen, you can start again, just like me”

“I know, but I’m just so nervous, I can’t even stand the sight of him and we share the same building for lectures”

“You have to be strong.”

“I shall try, thanks Laura” Jen walked away but still had a look of fear about her.

Looking at the clock Laura noticed it was almost midnight and as she had a big day tomorrow she should probably get some sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a quick update, phew, I probably won't be that punctual with the rest. Happy Christmas eve eve! 
> 
> I made up the university name as I don't know much about the ones in London so I decided to create my own.

_“There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense.”_

Laura was bought up in the country in the county of Hampshire, with her 3 sisters, Jen, Kat and Lily and her brother Mike. Some might have said that that her family were poor, (although living in an expensive and prime county (with its commuting distance to London) and with an amazing national park) they could only afford a small town house in the middle of a city but they were happy as they were. They were surrounded by amazing friends and neighbors, whom her mother loved to gossip with and her father loved to avoid. And so moving to London to go to the Queen Elizabeth University was quite an undertaking, for both her and Jen. 

Laura lay back in her new room and stared at the ceiling, it had been one of the busiest days in her life, they had packed up Jen's car with their belongings, said goodbye to their family, taken the 2 hour drive to London and then unloaded everything into their new flat. Most of her stuff lay either around the floor or still in boxes. And after all that Laura was expected to go to this ‘fresher’s’ party at one of the local clubs, Jen had declared that it would be a great way to meet new people and to get to know her own way around. Sighing, she slowly picked herself out of the comfy mattress and looked in one of the boxes for something to wear; pulling out one of her shorter dresses with a peter pan collar she sniffed it to check it was okay. It smelt like fabric conditioner. 

After locating a pair of heels she knocked on the door to Jen’s room.

“Yes?”

She walked in.

“Do you think I look okay?”

“Oh Laura, you look wonderful, you certainly scrub up well”

Jen was wearing a fairly modest dress, tights and court shoes, her skinny figure suited almost everything and she looked amazing, Laura assumed she was trying to impress someone, or be prepared in case she bumped into Rob.

“I don’t want to go” Laura moaned, she hated this kind of thing.

“You’re going to have to meet people eventually you know, and I’m going to be there it will be fine”

“Hmph”

“Let’s go”

-

“This sucks I don’t know anyone”  
They had been at the club 30 minutes and Laura had lost Jen amongst the sea of people that swarmed the club like bee’s to nectar. She appeared to be the only sober one here, except what looked like a man sulking in the corner, he looked like he was having the same amount of fun she was having. Laura stood on a chair to get a better look, she saw Jen talking to someone in the corner, she didn’t wish to interrupt but she was having a miserable time and just wanted to go.

“Jen! I’ve been looking for you for 10 minutes”

“Oh there you are Laura; I’d like you to meet some people. This is Charlie, and his sister Carrie, Carrie is new like you, Charlie, Carrie, this is my younger sister Laura”

“Hi! How are you?” Charlie inquired happily, Carrie looked on with false happiness as the pleasantries were being given.

“Our friend over there in the corner is Will”, he pointed to the guy sulking in the corner that Laura had spotted earlier, he nodded as he was pointed at.

“Nice to meet you,” Laura said politely. “I get the impression that your friend doesn't really want to be here though”

“You are probably right, he’ll probably end up on a serial murdering spree if he stays any longer, and I don’t really know why he came”

“I feel his pain” Laura jokingly replied, Charlie responded with some light laughter.

It seemed Will sensed they were talking about him as he aimlessly wandered over.

“Charlie do we really have to stay here much longer” he ignored everyone else.

“Will, this is Jen and her sister Laura”

Will nodded, swinging his dark and groomed, floppy hair as he did so, and continued to focus his attention on Charlie.

“Okay we’ll go now, sorry girls, hey, here’s my number and maybe we can all meet up before term starts”

Charlie scribbled down a number and gave it with a smile to Jen.

“I hope I see you soon” Jen smiled timidly. 

Laura had never seen her act this way with a boy since before Rob, maybe it really was a fresh start for her after all.

-

“Well he was rude” Laura began in the taxi on the way back to their flat.

“Hmm? Who was”

“Will”

“I suppose he was”

“Charlie was nice”

“He seemed great didn’t he, really gentleman like!”

“Oh Jen you’ve got it bad”

“What?”

“You’ll see”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it, my chapters will never be very long I think, I don't really like very long chapters myself and I don't want the story to go on forever!
> 
> Yet again sorry for my British ways.
> 
> Always appreciating reviews.

**Author's Note:**

> I would appreciate any help and reviews. I will be updating soon.


End file.
